A big shout-out to the strawberry, who's back in town and making Washington area farm markets a little more gorgeous.

Strawberry glory.

A member of the rose family, the strawberry is unlike her other berry brethren, as she's the only one that keeps her seeds in full view, on the skin. Of all the berry options to come our way this summer, the strawberry is fairly low on my list (I'm much more excited about the impending arrival of blueberries, which I can eat by the pint.), but now that I've read in Dana Jacobi's new book, "The Essential Best Foods Cookbook," that one cup of strawberries contains 140 percent of the RDA for vitamin C, I'm reconsidering my position.

That stunning shade of red isn't just for show, by the way. In those come-hither pigments are powerful antioxidants called anthocyanins which protect us from our brain going down the drain as we creak on in years.

Even if I find her too sweet, I think I can find a way to love her. Perhaps a savory twist is in order. After all, I much prefer
apple pie, when it's seasoned with rosemary and pine nuts, and I'm a sucker for pineapple chunks mingling with chilis, peanuts and cilantro. Pears with blue cheese, melon and prosciutto -- I can do this!

To get the savory strawberry party started, I rang up my pal Bill Addison, the one person on the planet who understands my savory fruit fixation.

"Arugula," he said, an idea which immediately took me back to the dreamy strawberry-spinach salad I had this winter in Costa Rica (recipe below the jump). Yes, peppery arugula -- but what else? We decided on pecans and goat cheese, promising salad companions that would offer both fat and tang, crunch and creaminess.

We hung up, and I got to thinking, I like pineapple on my pizza; what if I did it up with strawberries instead? And would I add red sauce, too? A bit of online searching brought me to this curious recipe for spaghetti with strawberries, with pureed berries incorporated into the marinara sauce. Too weird? Or weird enough to be the best new thing that's happened to pasta?

And think how stunning a bowl of strawberry-topped risotto would be! Garnished with basil, lots of black pepper and a smidge of mascarpone instead of Parmigiano-Reggiano. Hmm...am I on a inspired roll or am I delusional? Weigh in and set me straight or keep the savory thread going. I eagerly await your ideas and recipe suggestions!

P.S.: For those of you more interested the strawberry as a sweet, check out my laundry list of ideas from last year's blog space.

I'll be honest: Despite the greening of my pantry, I've been slow to embrace organic wine. After a less than tasty experience a few years ago with a bottle of organic red from a California winery that shall remain nameless, I've been swearing off the stuff because it either hasn't been up to snuff or is just too darned expensive.

Mendocino Wine Company's Paul Dolan.

A recent run-in with a 2007 bottle of "Sustainable White" by Parducci Winery has me revisiting the eco-vino issue and I'll tell you why: The wine is delicious and under 10 bucks a bottle. A blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Muscat Canelli, Tokai and Viognier, "Sustainable White" and its sibling, "2005 Sustainable Red" are part of a year-long partnership with Whole Foods, where it's sold exclusively between $8 and $9.99 through December. To be clear, the "Sustainable" sibs are not certified organic (95 percent organic grapes grown without the use of chemical fertilizers or pesticides or added sulfites, as per the National Organic Program), but are well on their way.

Parducci is one of six brands under the umbrella that is Mendocino Wine Company, a partnership formed in 2004 by two winemaking families, the Dolans and the Thornhills. In the course of my sipping, I learned that in April, Parducci announced its conversion to becoming 100 percent wind and solar power-operated, calling itself the "nation's first carbon neutral winery. What that means exactly is one of the reasons I caught up with Paul Dolan, a fourth generation winemaker, by phone last week.

It's about measuring your carbon foot print," said Dolan, who was president of Fetzer Vineyards for 12 years before buying Parducci. "And the things that you measure are the things that you impact." To that end, Dolan says, the company has greened up several aspects of their operations, including packaging (labels made from post-consumer paper and soy inks), fuel (biodiesel for equipment) and the aforementioned wind power -- carbon credits which he considers critical because redirecting investment towards renewable sources insures that less energy is pulled from non-renewable sources. "It's the fuel that is the resource that is going to generate investment," he says.

For its 350 acres, MWC has 35 local growers, 80 percent of whom have received training in biodynamic viticulture and/or fish-friendly farming. Biodynamics, an organic farming system conceptualized by Rudolf Steiner in the 1920s, "crucially views the soil as an integral part of the symbiosis between planet, air and cosmos," according to the Oxford Companion to Wine," using the lunar calendar for planting. Fish-friendly farming sounds like what it is -- farm management practices with conservation of neighboring watersheds and habitats in mind. At present, the certification program is limited to wine producing areas in California. When asked if MWC vineyards bordered particular bodies of waters at risk, Dolan said: "Yeah, sure, the Russian River is the major watershed in Mendocino County, where we grow our grapes. But the issue here is, how do you do things that contribute to the quality of life? And why wouldn't we want to consider the fish in our practices?"

Of its 350 acres, says Dolan, 70 are certified biodynamic, 130 acres are organic and in process of becoming biodynamic and the remaining 150 acres is a mix of organic and organic-in-progress.

The quick success of the Sustainable line, says Dolan, means it is here to stay and will become available in more mainstream retail sectors beginning next year. For under $10, these siblings are a terrific value; the white offers plenty of citrus notes with a pineapple-y nose, and it works equally well as a sipper and a companion for grilled fish. It also pairs with the spicy stuff, as I discovered last week with a bowl of shrimp curry. The red is cherry in the mouth, berry in the nose, and it plays nicely with all things cheddar-y, as with a thin pizza.

Have you found eco-friendly wines that are equally friendly on the palate? Share your finds in the comments area.

Talk to me today at noon for this week's What's Cooking.

Just one week ago, I asked for your personal stories about the important women in your life, as part of a Mother's Day tribute. Never in my wildest dreams did I anticipate the rush of excitement and enthusiasm that was bursting open my inbox, and I am truly honored and in awe of the generous, loving spirit that came through in every one of your stories. With so many heart-felt nuggets to choose from, it was difficult to narrow the field of entries, which follow.

There's Sandi, of Attleboro, Mass., who lost her mother last June to liver cancer:

When I saw her last I fixed her shrimp and potatoes - that was June 25th. She even had a sip of wine. She waited for me to leave, and within two days she was bedridden.

Beth McElroy's grandmother, Kathryn Violet, in her Selingsgrove, Pa. bakery in 1962.

...And Colette, of Arlington, Va., who remembers her mother's weekly ritual of making bread for their family of nine in western Pennsylvania:

I vividly recall being four years old and being next to her while she was working in her large aluminum tub of yeasty bread dough (she didn't employ any mixers or gadgets) and me with my tiny aluminum pan and the spare bit of dough that she would allow me to play with.

... And Mimi, of Springfield, Mass., who recalls a friend of her mother's, "Aunt" Minette, while growing up in Memphis, Tenn.:

Each year at Passover my mother made wine and nut cakes. Aunt Minette made a much less beautiful, and much more tasty, homemade gelfilte fish. It was no ordinary gelfilte fish. No slimy in the jar stuff. A delightful ball made of boiled ground fish and matzah meal and other stuff. Homemade horseradish to spice it up. The one food that made Passover really worth looking forward to. "

And that's just for starters.

Without any further adieu, I present five amazing women - and the kids (and grandkids) they produced. Have a most delicious Mother's Day, and celebrate your special lady in the comments area below.

Stories below the jump.

A friend reminded me that 2008 is the International Year of the Potato, organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.

The timing is impeccable. With the global cost of wheat 83 percent higher than a year ago and that of rice up by 20 percent since the beginning of this year, the potato is being touted as a low-cost solution to easing the global food crisis.

After wheat and rice, the potato is the world's number three crop, but unlike the grains, it's not a global commodity. According to the FAO, about six percent of the world's potatoes are on the international market, compared to approximately 17 percent for wheat. That's because the potato is more perishable -- prone to rot -- and because of its bulky nature, more costly to transport. The upside of this lesser export potential is that countries can think local versus global, growing their own, easy-to-harvest potatoes, with more control over prices, and feeding themselves.

In Peru, ancient home of the potato, there's a nationwide push to
to substitute costly wheat flour with potato flour (video link) in bread and baked goods.

We tend to think that potatoes are caloric wastelands, but that's because we eat so many darned French fries. A non-fried potato is actually a good source of Vitamins B6 and C, potassium and dietary fiber, plus a fair amount of protein.

In honor of the spud, I've compiled a bunch of links to potato-centric recipes that have served me well over the years.

Long-time readers know I'm a big fan of mayo-free potato salad, particularly with cook-out season around the corner.

Brunch is always better, I say, with a frittata, especially when studded with diced potatoes that get melty and sweet inside. (A good last-minute Mother's Day treat to boot.)

As much as I love a crispy frite as the next guy, there's comfort galore in this potato and green bean pie, a handy side dish for a big supper crowd. Speaking of cozy, a pot of Vietnamese-style chicken, lemongrass and potato curry, will take the edge off on a rainy day.

How could I forget my adventures making gnocchi, which I recommend everyone try at least once, particularly when basil is in season and you can sauce them up with a glorious pesto.

And now, potato heads, it's your turn. Share your tried-and-true spud specials in the comments area.

This week's Green Plate Special is a selection of eco-minded food blogs, which are cropping up like wild mint. Here's what's catching my eye (and whetting my appetite):

"Eat your greens" is the mantra of Envirovore, a new addition to the rapidly expanding EcoGeek family. Written by a trio of women in Montana, the blog is a collection of newsy items from around the country, with a politics-policy bent. To wit: yesteday's post is all about the dairy industry's pursuit of a more sustainable image.

Ken Cook, president of the Environmental Working Group is the force behind Mulch, a daily report of what's going on in the world of agriculture and food policy and what the media -- and media makers -- are saying, spinning, spewing. A must-read for Farm Bill drama followers.

Underwater sustainability is the primary focus of Sea Notes, blog home for Monterey Bay Aquarium, but author Ken Peterson occasionally travels by land to keep things interesting. Two new bloggers -- both 12 years old -- have joined the Sea Notes ranks, an exciting way to include the voices of the future. Because of Sea Notes, I learned about this Web-only Vanity Fair piece by British journalist Charles Clover about chefs who are (and aren't) serving sustainable seafood in their restaurants.

Take a Bite Out of Climate Change is the newborn blogging project of Anna Lappe, co-author of "Grub: Ideas for an Urban Kitchen" and daughter of Frances Moore Lappe (author of Diet for a Small Planet). In this space, Lappe plans to file dispatches from the road as she works on her third book, "Eat the Sky." From the book's foreword, which is posted on the site: "If we are serious about addressing climate change, we have to talk about food." Yes! I'm hoping to catch up with Lappe in the coming weeks with a Q&A here.

Public health nutritionist Marion Nestle, who's become a household name with her award-winning "What to Eat," has a terrific blog with the same name. Here, she offers commentary and analysis on the latest happenings in food policy, food safety, nutrition, obesity and food labels, to name just a few. Nestle makes good on her commitment to responding to reader comments, which keeps the conversation going.

Got a green eating blog to add to the buffet? We're always hungry for new items, so add it to the menu below.

I've been trying to come up with a way to talk about the 2007 (now 2008) Farm Bill that has been extended yet again to May 16. The nearly $300 billion five-year spending bill is so complicated it will turn your eyes inside out.

If it was only about subsidies for wealthy farmers (and non-farmers), that would be one thing. But, as a quick aside and to keep you up to speed, just a few days ago, President Bush threatened to veto the bill over the income limits ($500,000) proposed last week in Congress (and given the thumbs up by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi). Under this bill, non-farmers would still get payments until 2009.

But it's also about money for school lunch programs in the developing world, money for organic growers, food stamps, land conservation, and shucks, even tax breaks for thoroughbred race horses -- and that's just a nibble of what's at stake.

Instead, I'm going to break this whole thing down and talk about "The Real Dirt on Farmer John," a film now available on Netflix. It's a story about a farmer named John Peterson. Farmer John, as he's known, was born and raised on a working family farm in Caledonia, Ill., about 100 miles northwest of Chicago.

The 82-minute film traces the never-dull life and times of Peterson, who was 19 when his father, Lester, died, leaving him with all of the responsibilities for the family's thriving 350-acre farm. While a student at Beloit College in the 1960s, Peterson invited his hippie pals to commune on the property, which became a place for free love and open-air theater, activities that made Peterson a community outcast (he was accused of devil worship, among other things). In the 1970s, Peterson went into debt (about half a million dollars' worth) and was forced to auction all but 22 acres of his land in 1982, a fate that would eventually be shared by many other farmers in his community.

It would take several years of traveling to Mexico, writing and being depressed before Peterson would resolve to farm again, this time organically. Angelic Organics was born in 1990, becoming a full-fledged CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm in 1993. In 2006, when the film was originally released, Angelic Organics had 1,200 subscriber families on its books.

The story is far from simple; Even when he returned to farming in the early 1990s, Peterson almost gave up the pitchfork again, but he persisted, he says in the film, for his beloved mother, Anna, who loved selling vegetables at their farm stand. (She died of cancer in 1996.) It was years before harassment (including suspected arson on his property) and ostracizing came to an end, but Peterson's dogged spirit and passion for the soil is what ultimately gets him through. He has since written a cookbook (Farmer John's Cookbook: The Real Dirt on Vegetables) and earlier this year was traveling in Australia and New Zealand to promote the film.

The Columbia Pike farmers market, the market in my neighborhood, opened for the growing season on Sunday, and as I looked around, I noticed a similar passion for the soil and the work that these people do. I said hello to returning farmers and introduced myself to newcomers, such as Dora from Penn Farm in Montross, Va., and Luke from Stoneybrook Organic Farm in Hillsboro, Va.

It occurred to me, as I watched Farmer John on film and observed my neighbors interact with farmers, this Farm Bill stuff doesn't have to be -- no, shouldn't be -- complicated at all. There are people who still believe that growing food is a worthwhile enterprise, people who still have passion for the soil, people who believe in the link between farm and table. So if you want to better understand the Farm Bill and farming, rent "the Real Dirt on Farmer John" (YouTube trailer below) and say hello to the farmers in your dell this week. They can't wait to meet you.

Come chat with me today at noon: What's Cooking.

As promised, I've compiled the daily eco-bites that appeared throughout April for handy viewing and reference. Going forward, my goal is to offer a weekly eco-bite that will be posted seperately so it's available on the "Eco-Bites" archive page. Please offer your own or send me green nibbles via e-mail at kim.odonnel@washingtonpost.com

Greenery at Pura Vida Spa in Costa Rica. (Kim O'Donnel)

* Wanna know what's fresh and in season in your neck of the woods? Check out the Eat Local tool developed by the National Resources Defense Council, with biweekly updates for all 50 states (sorry, D.C. is excluded).

* What's it like to eat a diet of foods grown and raised within 150 miles of your home? Follow the experiences of 15 people from around the country who are eating a diet that is 80 percent local for an entire year on Locavore Nation, a blogging project of Lynn Rossetto Kasper's public radio program, The Splendid Table.

* Confused by the difference between organic and conventional produce? Check out these organic cheat sheets:
The Organic Center in Boulder, Colo. has compiled a pocket guide with its recommendations for conventional produce to avoid, and the Environmental Working Group's wallet-sized version offers both its "dirty dozen" (12 worst offenders) and the "cleanest 12," a list of conventional produce that consistently scores lower in pesticide residues.

* Ideal Bite is the "Daily Candy" of the green world, an e-mail subscription service that dishes up a daily dose of eco tips in your inbox. City-specific "bites" are available for Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Seattle subscribers; the rest of us receive a generic "daily tip."

* For more on the Monsanto milk controversy mentioned in last week's blog space, check out 
this article in the current "green issue" of Vanity Fair. The piece is written by the Pulitzer prize-winning investigative team that is Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele.

* The 2007 Word of the Year for the Oxford American Dictionary is locavore, a word coined in San Francisco in 2004 to describe people who eat food that is grown or raised within a 100-mile radius of where they live.
* The original group's Web site and 
Eat Local Challenge, a group blog written by locavores with eating local dispatches and adventuring around the country
* My Food section article on a 100-Mile Thanksgiving.

* King Corn, a documentary that ran the indie theater circuit last fall, is coming to your television screens this week. As part of PBS's "Independent Lens" programming, "King Corn" will air tomorrow, April 15, at 10 p.m. ET on Washington public television network, WETA, and rebroadcast next week. Check PBS for listings in your area.

* Edible Communities is a consortium of 39 quarterly magazines (and counting) from Allegheny, Pa., to Vancouver, B.C., on locally-based eating, farming and shopping. It has become required reading for locavores. In your neck of the woods, the mag is gratis; to read what's Edible elsewhere, you must sign up and subscribe.

* Hot off the green press, just in time for Earth Day, is "Big Green Purse: Use Your Spending Power to Create a Cleaner, Green World" by Washington area author Diane MacEachern. The word "purse" is intentional; this book is for women, who "spend eighty-five cents of every dollar in the marketplace," MacEachern writes in her introduction. Printed on acid-free recycled paper (natch), this hefty paperback is a green guide to all facets of life, from your morning coffee to your sleepy-time linens, including substantial chapters on food and drinks.

* The Green Fork is a new blog on eating and dining with a sustainable palate. So far, so tasty, and check the handy list of green-eating links in the right margin.

* Curious about composting? Get the dirt here.

* Crop to Cup buys coffee beans directly from Ugandan family farms and reinvests 10 percent of its profits with the growers, ensuring fair trade and community development. In addition, CTC has created online message boards for farmers to interact directly with consumers. Retail distribution is currently limited to New York and Chicago, but online ordering is available for the rest of us.

Maybe you're looking for a last-minute Cinco de Mayo supper idea, or maybe, like me, you've always been curious about making your own enchiladas but were afraid to ask.

I had longed steered clear of the enchilada (the past participle of the Spanish word enchilar, which means to season with chiles) because I had it in my head they'd be cumbersome to prepare and disappointing compared to anything I'd encounter in a Mexican restaurant. It was a mental block that I hoped one day would melt away.

And then one day last spring, I met Chico, a Atzec fire-eating friend of a friend who was visiting from San Francisco, and lo and behold, he was fixing chicken enchiladas for supper. Would I care to join him -- and perhaps give him a hand? I thought I had died and gone to kitchen heaven.

Life is all about timing, and within the span of an hour, I learned first hand that chicken enchiladas are the furthest thing from rocket science; rather it's a sum of many parts, which require proper seasoning and assembly, but nothing tricky.

I highly recommend getting your hands on fresh tomatillos because their flavor is brighter than those from a can, but don't worry yourself silly if the fresh stuff is not in the cards. You can still pull off this dinner trick, even on a weeknight, particularly if you've got a helper nearby.

And if you're an enchilada veteran of sorts, please share your tips and tricks in the comments area. Vegetarian fillings welcomed and wanted, please.

P.S. Have you got a kitchen or food-related story to share about your mother, grandmother or maternal figures in your life? Send 'em my way at kim.odonnel@washingtonpost.com no later than Wednesday, May 7. In the subject line of your e-mail, type "MOM" and in your note, please include your age, city and state, and where you grew up, size of your family. I'll select a handful of entries for a blog-stravaganza that will be published on May 9. Oh -- and if you've got a cool pic of Mom, send that along too.

Chico's Chicken Enchiladas
2 chicken breasts and thighs, or 1 whole chicken, cut up
Soft corn tortillas (estimate 2 per person)
Vegetable oil of choice
1 pound fresh tomatillos, husked and rinsed (Alternatively, 1 13-ounce can tomatillos, drained. Sauce also available commercially in jars.)
1 jalapeño, seeded and chopped (use a serrano for less spicy results)
4 scallions, cleaned, green tops only
1/2 cup cilantro leaves, chopped
Juice of 1/2 lime
2/3 cup chicken stock
Salt to taste
1/2 to 1 pound Monterey Jack cheese, shredded or queso fresco or cotija, crumbled
1 cup shredded lettuce
Sour cream for garnish (optional)

Method
Bring a deep pot of water to a boil, add 1 teaspoon of salt and chicken parts. Lower heat and cook over medium heat, until meat is cooked all the way through, about 30 minutes.

With a pair of tongs, remove chicken from pot and allow to cool. Remove skin. With a fork, pull chicken away from bone and shred into strips. Set aside.

In a saucepan, bring some water to a boil and add tomatillos. Cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Remove and drain. Place in a blender or food processor, and add the chilies, scallions, cilantro and lime juice. Pulse and begin to puree. Gradually add stock, until you have a fairly thin consistency. Add salt to taste. Pour into a small saucepan and keep on very low heat to warm.

In a skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of oil until warm but not smoking and add tortillas, one by one, cooking on each side for about 10 seconds. Remove with tongs and allow to drain on paper towels. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Lay tortillas on a flat surface, one at a time. Place just enough chicken to cover center of tortilla from left to right. Add two tablespoons enchilada sauce, followed by a small amount of cheese. Beginning at end closest to you, roll tortilla and tighten slightly as you near the middle.

Place seam side down into a baking dish. When all tortillas are rolled and fit snugly into dish, pour sauce over entire surface and finish off with remaining cheese.

Place dish into oven and bake for 10 minutes. Serve piping hot.

Makes six servings.

Mother's Day is next Sunday, May 11. As part of the celebration next week, I'm working on a piece about the force that is Mom. Have you got a kitchen or food-related story to share about your mother, grandmother or maternal figures in your life? Send'em my way at kim.odonnel@washingtonpost.com no later than Wednesday, May 7. In the subject line of your e-mail, type "MOM" and in your note, please include your age, city and state, and where you grew up, size of your family. I'll select a handful of entries for a blog-stravaganza that will be published on May 9. Oh -- and if you've got a cool pic of Mom, send that along too.

Louisville, Ky. is the place to be this weekend, when the 134th Kentucky Derby gets underway Saturday night. Having never watched the Derby nor ever stepped foot in "Loooolville," I asked Mister MA, a Kentucky boy, for advice on Derby party vittles.

Beer cheese and crackers. (Kim O'Donnel)

Anything with bourbon was the short answer, and he coughed up Derby classics such as Benedictine, the cucumber-cream cheese spread, chocolate pecan pie and a Hot Brown, a turkey, bacon and tomato sandwich with a Mornay sauce.

I liked the idea of beer cheese, which cookbook writer Marion Flexner notes in her "Out of Kentucky Kitchens," was a bar staple "when free lunches were served in Kentucky saloons with every 5-cent glass of beer."

As I waded through a sea of online beer cheese recipes, I noticed several variations on the theme; some recipes called for both cheddar cheese and cream cheese; others included mayonnaise, celery salt, blue cheese and horseradish. Yikes. What was a Derby newbie to do?

I sought the cheesy counsel of my pal Pableaux Johnson, a die-hard Louisianan who recently relocated to Louisville to become the new food editor at the Louisville Courier-Journal. Despite his short tenure in Kentucky, Pableaux is quickly learning the culinary ropes in his new digs and of course, he had a beer cheese recipe handy.

The recipe, below, he says, "comes from Sherry Hurley, a Louisville caterer. It's rockin' with pretzels."

So I tried my hand at Miss Hurley's beer cheese, and I do declare, this is some fine eatin'. And yes, I would agree, it's a perfect match for a pretzel. One batch will make more than enough for your Derby shindig, and with plenty of leftovers for sandwiches next week.

Got a Derby treat to share -- or another beer cheese variation to tout? By all means, share your goodies in the comments area.

Recipe below the jump.